Chafing Gear

THE SWEDISH SHIP GOTHEBORG

Sail Amsterdam 2015 is over, the Gotheborg is sailing on to Dover, what do we do between watches? We build a Loom of course !

We made a Heddle and a Sword Beater, then using some eight sided Oak, a couple of blocks, some shackles and old Hemp ropes, we made ourselves a working loom on the Gun deck to create some bespoke Chafing Gear. Just a coat or two of ships tar and the Chafing gear is ready to use.

The idea for the Loom came from our Bosun, Woody Wiest. Construction, operation and production by Ron Groenestein, Richard Sibley and Mikaela Boltenstern.

And of course the rest of the crew went on to produce even more fabulous and exotic chafing gear during the trip, as in the tradition of the seafarers of old, the officers kept the crew very busy….

“six days shalt thou labor and do all thou art able. And on the seventh – Holystone the decks and scrape the cable”
Richard Henry Dana

The Loom on the Gun deck with Ron Groenestein.

Weaving our own chafing gear

Working the Sword Beater

The weft is fed through the space created by the movement of the Heddle

Feeding the Weft between the Warp using our hands as a shuttle

Using the Sword beater to help maintain the gap for the Weft to pass through

A close up of the Warp and Weft

Adjusting the eight sided oak pieces to improve the tension on the Warp